1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clasping device for fixing a cargo item such as an automobile on a load-carrying platform of a transporting means such as a ship or vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The applicant of the present patent application has previously provided a clasping device, disclosed in Japanese utility model publication No. 52175/1981, which is compactly assembled, durable, reliable and easily handled. Such a clasping device is indicated in FIGS. 1 to 3. This clasping device has a main assembly A which includes a body B and a lever C pivotally connected to the body B by means of a pair of pins 8a and 8b. When the lever C is pivoted with respect to a body B from the release position to a tightening position, a strap turning shaft 18 and a strap pressing shaft 19, respectively mounted between a pair of sidewalls of the lever C, revolve about the pins 8a and 8b so that the strap 21 is tightened.
The construction of the above clasping device will be described in more detail hereinafter. A first hook 1 is directly connected to a left end portion of the body B, as viewed in FIGS. 1 to 3. The strap 21 has one end portion 21b, to which a second hook 2 is connected, and a opposite end portion 21a which is inserted into the body B from the right side thereof to be connected to the body B. Namely, the end portion 21a of the strap 21 is externally wound around the strap turning shaft 18 after having passed the strap pressing shaft 19. The body B has, at its right end portion, two guide members arranged at the upper and lower positions with respect to the strap 21 to be inserted, i.e. a connecting shaft 12 for supporting the lever C in the tightening position, and a connecting wall 11 to which the corresponding portion of the strap 21 contacts when the main assembly A is turned upside down from the normal position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The end portion 21a of the strap 21 is inserted into the body B through the space between the pair of guide members 11 and 12. Furthermore, the lever C and the body B have, respectively, a pair of sidewalls each having anchor means 20 and 13.
The clasping device, as described above, is preferably used for the purpose of fixing an automobile having a relatively light weight. Therefore, the size of the entire clasping device is designed so as to be relatively small. However, with regard to making the clasping device small, the dimension of the vertical width of the body B is not sufficiently small. Conventionally, the vertical width of the body B can not be made sufficiently small for the following reason. As shown in FIG. 3, when the lever C is in the release position, the portion of the strap 21 between the strap turning shaft 18 and the second hook 2 is held straight. That is to say, the pins 8a and 8b are mounted on positions of the corresponding sidewalls of the body B that allow above-mentioned straight condition of the strap 21 to be effected. If the pins 8a and 8b are mounted at lower positions on the body B, the vertical width of the body can be made smaller as a matter of course, but the strap turning shaft 18 and the strap pressing shaft 19 disadvantageously take a position below the connecting wall 11, so that the strap 21 bends around the connecting wall 11. Under this condition, when the strap 21 is pre-tightened by pulling the end portion 21a of the strap 21, the strap is rubbed against the connecting wall 11, so that the operation of pre-tightening the strap 21 is becomes disadvantageously very difficult. Accordingly, the pins 8a and 8b must be mounted at the relatively high position of the sidewalls on the body B, resulting in the vertical width of the body B being made necessarily large.
The problem, as described above, is due to the fact that the pins 8a and 8b are mounted at fixed position on the body B so that the positional relationship of the connecting wall 11 and the pins 8a and 8b can not be changed when moving the lever C between the release and tightened conditions.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a clasping device wherein the positional relationship of the pins 8a and 8b with respect to the connecting wall 11 are changed in when moving the lever C between the release and tightened conditions so that the portion of the strap 21 between the strap turning shaft 18 and the second hook 2 can be held straight when the lever is in the release position.